GC 565

Grieving Children:A Clinical and Pastoral Guide in Helping them Heal

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cOURSE INFORMATION

This course removes the ideals of curing grief for children but helping them adapt and grow from grief. This clinical and pastoral guide looks at grief from a child’s perspective and helps counselors learn from the children what grief is to them. The course lists many of the dos and do not's “grown ups” should adhere to in regards to caring for a child in grief and also helps one understand the nature of grief in the mind of the child. Ultimately the course hopes to help counselors become “companions” of grief to the child and guide counselors in aiding children experience happiness and adjustment in the post loss life. Course Code: GC 565. Contact hours of Education = 30.

This course is particularly designed for those who are already or were recently certified by the American Academy of Grief Counseling, and are now seeking Certification as a Certified Grief Counselor in Child/Adolescent Grief.

TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment in this course
to complete all five (5) of the required courses in this program for Child/Adolescent Grief Counseling. There are no set time-frames, other
than the two year allotted time.

Textbooks: There are two (2) required books for this course:

When a Child You Love Is Grieving by Harold Smith. Published by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-8341-2838-5

Companioning the Grieving Child: A Soulful Guide for Caregivers by Alan Wolfelt, Ph.d. Published by Companion Press, 2012 ISBN: 978-1-617221-58-3

AIHCP Online Bookstore: AIHCP provides an online bookstore stocked with all of the required textbooks, and/or materials required for its CE courses. To purchase this book online, click the access store link, go to the table of categories, right upper hand corner, and click on Grief Counseling. Access AIHCP Store: click here

GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to
complete this course and receive the 30 hours of awarded continuing
education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will
receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the
minimum of 70% will be contacted by the American Academy of Grief
Counseling and options for completing additional course work to
achieve a passing score, will be presented.

BOARD APPROVALS: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is a licensed Continuing Education Provider in the State of California, Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 15595. Access informatio

Online Classroom Resouces and Tools

* Message Boards: each specialty program has an area to "post" on the message board. Students may post messages at anytime. Posting allows students to converse with those in the same specialty practice and to discuss issues/course content etc. Instructions for posting are provided in the online classrooms.

* Chat Rooms: each specialty has it's own unique "chat room." Inside of the classroom there is a schedule for "chat time" with students in your specific specialty practice. Participating in "chats" is voluntary. The chat sessions are used as means for students to come together and discuss course content or anything related to the courses and/or certification specialty.

* Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as "open book" tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.

* Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page "Student Resource Center." The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.

* Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.

* Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor's online resume/biography, as well as your instructor's specific contact information.

* Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional "readings" and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.

Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able:

To learn how to be a comforter to a child that is grieving

To realize grief is not an event but a process

To differentiate children and adult styles of grieving

To understand the nature of children and how they grieve

To help a child grieve naturally and in a healthy fashion

To be better able to apply these concepts at a clinical and pastoral level

To embrace the notion if a child can love, then a child can grieve

To know when to guide, monitor and protect and when to simply listen and comfort a child in distress

To accept the reality that not all children grieve the same

Course Content

Auditing One’s Own Grief ExperiencesRecognizing the Individuality of a Grieving ChildABCs for Helping Grieving ChildrenCommon Misconceptions About GriefMourning StylesSad/Scared/Mad/Tired/GladHow the Grieving Child HealsTechniques for Counseling Grieving ChildrenA Family Systems ApproachHelping Grieving Children at SchoolCompanioning the Grieving Adolescent